LAKE GEORGE — Like pilgrims bound for some holy place, they come looking for a sign. A few trout also might be nice, but after more than a quarter year of cold, snow and ice, any little indication of a loosening of winter’s grasp would do.
Indications of spring do not come easily, or soon to Elevenmile Canyon, seven miles of deep granite cleavage where the South Platte River spills from the reservoir of the same name. Certain segments do not experience sun for months; in the lower reaches, far from the steady temperature of the tailwater, ice gathers in chunks the size of motorboats.
But on a day when blue sky frames cliffs gnarled like gargoyles, winter has begun a retreat measured more by thermometer than calendar. Gloves are left untouched. Heavy jackets are stuffed back into their bags. Fleece hats soon will follow.
But there are other hints, far more subtle but more important to the two men. These are stirrings deep beneath the surface that signal a more reliable gauge of seasons.
Brad Tomlinson operates The Peak fly shops in Colorado Springs and Woodland Park; Paul Turner is his ace guide. For reasons that are both professional and intensely personal, they live for the awakening of insects that begins another sweet cycle.
As with many treasured objects, the smallest often are the most precious. So it is with early insects.
“Blue-winged Olive,” Turner shouts the descriptive name fly-fishermen give to the tiny mayflies of the genus baetis, the first reliable hatch of the season.
Best observed on cloudy days, this scattering of sunshine bugs tells an important story. If a few are in the air, more are wiggling beneath the surface.
Tomlinson knots on an RS-2, a pattern by local artist Rim Chung that imitates the emerging form both of baetis and the prevailing midges. A medium-sized rainbow almost immediately is on the line. Turner responds with a Flashback Barr Emerger, another killer nymph. Same result.
“I think we’re seeing a general improvement in the entire South Platte system,” Tomlinson says, touting a revival that appears to extend from the Spinney tailwater all the way past Deckers.
Turner gives credit to stable water flows and good management by the principal water agencies during a season of heavy runoff. One result has been a bumper crop of midges, a confusion of size and color that only the most accomplished anglers solve with real consistency.
Tomlinson and Turner attack the problem with size 22s in an assortment of colors ranging from red to black, always ready to switch when the bite slows.
Through the clear water, some trout are seen nymphing on the bottom, while others suspend halfway, lifting occasionally when either midges or mayflies appear on the surface. Location quickly takes precedent over fly selection.
“For me, it’s more about the presentation, the drift, than any precise bug,” Turner said.
But he could not resist the temptation of the occasional baetis bobbing along in the drift, tiny vessels with sails catching sunlight like reflections in crystal. Some insects simply are too notable to ignore.
“This may foretell a really big hatch in March,” Tomlinson chimes in, sounding for all the world like a man who has found his sign.
Charlie Meyers: 303-954-1609 or cmeyers@denverpost.com
